Journalism Matters: Main UK News Organisations Call On Starmer To Back Trusted Journalism

The Prime Minister must back trusted journalism in the UK by standing up to the tech platforms and creating the right conditions for trusted news and information to flourish, leaders representing the UK’s main investors in news have said today. 

Speaking together for the launch of the News Media Association’s Journalism Matters campaign, leaders from Sky News, BBC, ITN, and the NMA have joined forces to call on Sir Keir Starmer to take urgent steps to prevent the digital ecosystem from becoming overwhelmed by misinformation and disinformation.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the leaders have warned of the escalating risks to the information ecosystem as the rise of AI products turbocharges the displacement of trusted news and information in favour of synthetically generated content, which is often riddled with inaccuracies and outright falsehoods. Generative AI brings some great new opportunities for the sector but also serious risks.

The government must act decisively by giving the regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, its unequivocal backing to stamp out the tech platforms’ anticompetitive behaviour using the toolkit from the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.

Ministers must also give their full and unconditional support to the creative sectors and the UK’s gold standard copyright regime as part of their ongoing work on AI, the journalism leaders have said today.

NMA chief executive Owen Meredith said: “In today’s uncertain world, trusted sources of information matter more than ever. Yet the tech platforms, the main gatekeepers to news, are downgrading the visibility of trusted journalism in favour of AI-generated slop, all while using journalistic content to train AI products with no transparency or oversight.

“This situation is unsustainable, and urgent action is required. The Prime Minister must give his full backing to trusted journalism, otherwise we risk creating an information ecosystem filled entirely with mis and dis information.”

Deborah Turness, CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, said: “AI can bring endless opportunities – the BBC is already forging ahead with generative AI tools that will help us deliver more trusted journalism to more people. However, our own research has shown the dangers of distortion from AI assistants which could undermine people’s trust in facts and verified information. It’s vital that we take steps to address these dangers.”

ITN chief executive officer Rachel Corp said: “We’re beginning to see real benefits from combining human expertise with AI – from fact-checking President Trump’s election speeches to analysing vast datasets. But there’s also a sharp rise in misleading content. ITN will always uphold high standards – the challenge now is ensuring people can access and recognise reliable information.

“To achieve this, we need government support: to promote the responsible use of AI, strengthen safeguards against misinformation, and continue investing in trusted journalism.”

Sky News Group executive chairman David Rhodes said: “AI can enhance what we do – for our audiences, for our reporters, and for British journalism in general – but these models are only as smart and safe as what’s put into them.  The public’s trust is at the heart of what we do, which is why Sky News is supporting clear, fair rules of the road.”